Construction Details:

Leotard:
White spandex from Joann's, lined with "nude" (beige) so-called powernet from Joann's. The sides have a bit of boning in them to help keep the strapless top up, but I still like to pin it to my bra for added security.
I don't particularly like the materials I used, since the "powernet" isn't nearly as firm of a stretch as it should be, but it was all I could get on short notice and without running into incredibly high shipping minimums on Spandex World, so I have to live with it.
The cutout is reverse applique of sorts -- I stitched around the cutout shape, and cut away the top layer of white spandex, leaving the powernet layer underneath. The gem is glued on with a backing of white spandex so it'll stick to the mesh without having to worry about the holes.
As I went, I kept making the legline higher and the thong back smaller because I wasn't happy with how covering it was. Oops. It's canon, and very '80s, so I'm not worried about it.

Top:
Some sort of iridescent sheer organza from Joann's that looks a bit like an oil slick. It was a huge pain to work with, and doesn't photograph exceptionally well, but it looks good in person. I drafted the top to have as few seams as possible, so the only seams are at the sides and underneath the sleeves. It was cut on the fold at the top, and the sleeves were cut as part of the body, so that the seams would be as minimal as possible. Everything is French seamed, especially since that fabric frays like a mofo.

Gems:
The stomach gem is from the top of a compact mirror. I covered it in iridescent cellophane gift wrap for the pink iridescent effect. The forehead gem was purchased and painted. I used a lot of glitter on the back to give it some extra shine when I move. You can see more about the gems here:
http://fabrickind.tumblr.com/post/127424952788

Legwear:
Leggings are the microfiber tights from We Love Colors in Lilac. They have been dyed with a bit of black dye to dull the color slightly. I cut them into stirrup leggings (while we can't see if they are stirrups or not in the show, it seemed like the '80s thing to do, and they stay better on my feet this way) and hemmed the edges.
Legwarmers were bought for a few dollars on eBay.
Shoes are some cheap Taobao shoes I bought years ago, and they have almost completely broken, so I'll need to replace them (I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did!). Since the character is barefoot, I decided to wear shoes that matched the costume and seemed like something that she would wear, rather than wearing other shoes and kicking them off for photos, since convention center floors are dirty. I just happened to have shoes that match her legwarmers nearly perfectly, so I used them.

Wig:
I can't input this into the wig section because the wigs aren't branded. I got them off of eBay for very cheap (~$8 each) and wefted two together (a white and a light blonde), and then wefted in some silver Arda wefts that I dyed to a light pink color. I then braided the whole thing and used hot water to make the fibers wavy. I would like to add more wig fiber to this to make it even bigger and poofier, and use an actual crimping iron (I wonder whatever happened to the one my parents used on me as a child?) to make the crimped hair better.

Makeup:
I decided not to do body paint, because A: it takes a lot of time and B: what color is she, anyway? Slightly more purple than my normal skin tone?
I sometimes paint the extra eyes, and sometimes just do eyelashes, depending on how I'm feeling and if my skin and eyes are freaking out from wearing too much makeup already. I use hot pink and purple eyeshadow, lots of glitter, and glitter eyelashes to complete the look.

Personal Thoughts:

Rainbow Quartz is a lot of fun to cosplay. I have a bad habit of choosing '80s sci-fi babes (what can I say, I look good in a thong-back leotard! ;]), so she was practically a foregone conclusion. I don't usually do "flirty" type characters, but she's still a lot of fun to wear.

Sorry, you must be a registered user of and logged in to view and add comments. Either log in or register now!